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Berlinale: World Cinema Fund to Support Seven New Projects

At the 10th session of the World Cinema Fund(WCF) jury on June 26 and 27, five new film projects were selected for production funding; and two films, for distribution funding.

Since its establishment in October 2004, the WCF has awarded production and distribution funding to a total of 63 projects chosen from 1035 submissions from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Central and South East Asia, and the Caucasus . All of the WCF films completed so far have screened in cinemas and/or in the programmes of renowned international film festivals - proof of the international success of the initiative. Most recent examples include the winner of the Berlinale La teta asustada (The Milk of Sorrow) and the four WCF-funded entries screened in Cannes this year: The Wind Journeys by Ciro Guerra, Independencia by Raya Martin, Ajamiby Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, as well as Huachoby Alejandro Almendras Fernandez.

The WCF is also pleased that the board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann agreed at its last meeting to extend its financing of the WCF until the end of 2011. (See press release from 15 June 2009).

Latest Funding Decisions

The WCF jury–film scholar and curatorViola Shafik (Germany/Egypt), programme coordinator of Swiss Television Alberto Chollet ( Switzerland ), dramaturge Alby James ( England ), as well as WCF project managers Sonja Heinen and Vincenzo Bugno – made their selection from 107 submissions from a total of 40 countries. They awarded funds totalling 222,500 euros to:

The funds for this project will be provided by the Federal Foreign Office.

The World Cinema Fund not only stands for innovative cinema, visual power, and the diversity of cinematic art in the regions funded by the WCF, but also for an ideal relationship between filmmakers from these regions and the film industry in Germany. Within a short period, the WCF has established itself as a cultural-political instrument for awarding funds, as a seal of quality for the supported projects, and as an initiative for making international contacts within the business.

Submission deadline for the next round of funding: 3 August 2009

For further information, go to: www.berlinale.de

The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival in cooperation with the Goethe Institute.